Snow Hill Island

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Map of Graham Land, showing Snow Hill Island (6)
Enlarge
Map of Graham Land, showing Snow Hill Island (6)

Snow Hill Island (64°28′S 57°12′W) is an almost completely snowcapped island, 20 miles (32 km) long and 6 miles (10 km) wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the northeast by Admiralty Sound.

It was discovered on January 6, 1843 by a British expedition under James Clark Ross who, uncertain of its connection with the mainland, named it Snow Hill because its snow cover stood out in contrast to the bare ground of nearby Seymour Island. Its insular character was determined in 1902 by the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Otto Nordenskiöld, who spent the winters of 1901, 1902, and 1903 there, using it as a base to explore the neighbouring islands and the Nordenskjold Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

[edit] See also

This article is based on a United States Geological Survey gazetteer.